WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said reinforcing Israel’s edge and bolstering security relationships with neighbors like Egypt were both U.S. priorities. Hagel, speaking Thursday to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s annual Soref Symposium, described his recent visit to Israel and the region, his first since assuming the defense secretary… More ▸

(JTA) — Syria’s army is ready to deal with Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad told an Iranian official on Syrian state television. “The Syrian people and its army, who have made important achievements by fighting terrorist and Takfiri groups, are capable of confronting Israel’s ventures that represent one of the many faces of terrorism targeting Syria… More ▸

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A mortar shell fired from Syria landed in the Golan Heights in Israel for the second straight day. The mortar fired on Tuesday morning landed in the central Golan Heights. On Monday, two projectiles fired from Syria landed in the southern Golan Heights. In both cases, no damage or injuries were reported. Israel filed… More ▸

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Iranian general said the arms allegedly attacked by Israel in Syria were not sent by his country. The denial appeared on the Revolutionary Guards website on Monday, the French news agency AFP reported. “The Syrian government does not need Iran’s military aid, and these sorts of reports are propaganda and psychological war,”… More ▸

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two rockets fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights in Israel. The rockets, which landed in the southern Golan Heights on Monday afternoon, caused no damage or injuries.They “were fired erroneously as a byproduct of internal conflict in Syria,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a tweet. Rebels and the Syrian army reportedly battled… More ▸

(JTA) — Israel did not provide advance warning to the United States on its alleged airstrikes on Syria, a U.S. intelligence official said. The unnamed official said the United States was told of the attacks as they were in progress, Reuters reported Monday. The Israel Defense Forces has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for attacks Friday… More ▸

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel has the right to prevent Hezbollah from acquiring weapons, President Obama said a day after Israeli jets reportedly destroyed Iranian missiles in Syria bound for the Lebanese terrorist group. Neither the U.S. nor the Israeli governments confirmed multiple reports quoting anonymous officials in both countries as saying that Israel was responsible… More ▸

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Now is the time to step up pressure on Iran, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in Jerusalem. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the committee chairman, made his remarks Wednesday following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Royce and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the committee’s ranking member, are heading… More ▸

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, warned that American involvement in the Syria crisis could invite his group’s intervention. “You won’t be able to bring down Damascus and you cannot bring down the regime militarily,” Nasrallah said Tuesday in a televised interview, according to The New York Times. “The battle will be long.”… More ▸